What is Custodial Care and Why Does it Matter?

Custodial care is a specific type of care that you may need as you get older or if you develop a physical or a mental condition. It can make a big impact on your financial situation if your care is classified as custodial care, because this classification will affect what type of insurance coverage is – and is not – available to you.

The Law Offices of James A. Miller, P.C. can provide you with help understanding the definition of custodial care, determining if the care that you need is custodial care, and taking steps to ensure that you can get the type of care that you require paid for without having to spend your entire life savings. To find out more about how our legal team can help you with making a plan to cover the costs of vital care that you need, give us a call today.

What is Custodial Care?

Custodial care is defined by Medicare as “non-skilled personal care, like help with activities of daily living like bathing, dressing, eating, getting into or out of a bed or chair, moving around, and using the bathroom.” If you need help to do basic “medical” tasks, such as putting in eyedrops, which most people tend to do on their own, this kind of care is also considered by Medicare to be custodial care.

Custodial care is distinct from skilled nursing care, which is care that can only be provided by someone who has some medical training and some medical knowledge. Changing sterile surgical bandages after an operation is an example of skilled medical care because this kind of care has to be provided by someone who knows how to perform the procedure safely.

Why Does it Matter if You Need Custodial Care?

It makes a very big difference to you if the care that you need is classified as custodial care, versus being classified as skilled nursing care. If your care is skilled nursing care, it may be covered under certain circumstances by Medicare and it may be covered under certain private insurance policies as well. However, if your care has been classified as custodial care, it will not ever be covered at all by Medicare and typically it will receive no coverage from private insurance providers.

If your care is not covered by Medicare and is not covered by a private insurance provider, you will have to find some way to get costs paid for if you require the care. Some people will purchase long term care insurance, which is intended to provide coverage for nursing home care or for care delivered in the home when custodial care is needed. However, the premiums for long term care insurance policies could become prohibitively expensive, especially as you get older. And, there could be daily limits on the amount of money these policies pay out, or other coverage limitations, which result in a long-term care policy not actually covering the custodial care that you require.

If you do not have effective coverage for custodial care, you may have to pay out of your own pocket. Since it is astronomically expensive to get home healthcare or to live in a nursing home, you could find yourself spending your life savings on care in a very short period of time and ending up with no ability to leave a legacy for your loved ones. If you don’t want this to be your fate when you need custodial care, you will need to work with Worcester Medicaid attorneys.

Worcester Medicaid attorneys can help you to take steps to get means-tested Medicaid benefits so you can get covered by Medicaid for nursing home care or long term care at home without first having to impoverish yourself to qualify. Medicaid has strict asset limits, but an experienced attorney can help you to structure the ownership of your wealth so the money and property you wish to pass on to your loved ones does not have to all be spent on custodial care before you can qualify for Medicaid coverage.

Getting Help from Worcester Medicaid Attorneys

Worcester Medicaid attorneys at The Law Offices of James A. Miller, P.C. will help you to take steps to make a Medicaid plan so you can get custodial care paid for without having to first spend all of your money and impoverish yourself to become eligible for Medicaid coverage. To find out more about creating a Medicaid plan to get custodial care paid for, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call at 866-370-3888 or contact us online today to create your personalized Medicaid plan.

Attorney Miller has been providing quality Nursing Home Planning and Estate Planning services to clients since 1994. These services have reached thousands of people concerned about protecting their families from the devastating legal effects of disability and death.

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